Donegal Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Sinn Féin continue to lobby for Undocumented Irish in the US

Published: 28 June, 2006

Sinn Féin Cllr Pearse Doherty who is the Party Spokesman for Irish Emigrants abroad has said his party colleague Dublin South West Sinn Féin TD Seán Crowe will travel to Washington as part of an Oireachtas delegation to lobby Senators and Congress men and women on the issue of undocumented Irish in the US and the upcoming McCain/Kennedy Bill on immigration reform. Deputy Crowe will join the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform rally on Capitol Hill on Wednesday afternoon.

Cllr Doherty said:


"Earlier this year I travelled to the US to offer support to the 40,000 plus undocumented Irish in the US, during this trip I met with the ILIR President Grant Lally and other boards members and urged them to continue to support and lobby Senators and Congressman on behalf of the thousands of undocumented Irish throughout the US.

"Since my trip in March, I have encountered many people who have family in the US. They have recounted the plight they suffer due to current legislation. Most people with family in the US have suffered the pain of separation at times of great sadness and joy and the demand by Sinn Féin for the current legislation to be amended have struck a chord with people both at home and abroad.

"The current situation of the Irish in the US has been of serious concern for Sinn Féin for some time now. The fear of not being allowed re-enter the US, where many Irish people have made good lives for themselves, has meant that these people have been cut off from their families and their native country. This has caused much hardship for the undocumented Irish and for their family back home in Ireland and has meant visits, holidays, weddings and even funerals in Ireland are out of the question.

"Sinn Féin believes the Kennedy/McCain Bill on immigration reform offers the best option for the Irish in the US. This measure, if passed, could have positive and life-changing consequences for undocumented workers living in the United States, hundreds if not thousands of whom are Irish. It creates a pathway towards citizenship and will bring an end to many years of uncertainty and hardship for many thousands of people.


"During his visit my party colleague Seán Crowe will be lobbying Senators and Congress men and women for their support for this Bill and for its urgent implementation. He will particularly stress the urgency of this issue given the hardship caused to so many people both in the US and at home here in Ireland and in many other countries."